SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- J&A-G11PX00568
- Notice Date
- 4/14/2011
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 334220
— Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing
- Contracting Office
- USGS OAG SACRAMENTO ACQUISITION BR.MODOC HALL, CSUS3020 STATE UNIVERSITY DRIVE EASTSACRAMENTOCA95819US
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- E-Mail Address
-
Caravelli, Jeffrey
(jcaravelli@usgs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- SOLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION FOR SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION CONDUCTED UNDER THE TEST PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS, FAR 13.5PR:0040005576REF:FAR 13.501(a)DIAPR 2008-10 with Amendment 1SM 404.31. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and Grants, Sacramento Branch intends to contract on a sole-source basis. This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by FAR 13.501(a).2. Nature/description of the action being approved.The contemplated action is a new contract to Telonics, Inc. of Mesa, AZ. The contract will be issued on a firm-fixed price basis (per unit) for a quantity not exceeding 100 units to be delivered in two (2) batches, the first not later than 01 July 2011 and the second not later than 01 August 2011. The exact quantity per batch will depend upon funding availability and successful arrangement of collaboration with Russian wildlife partners.3. Description of supplies/services required to meet the agencys needs, including estimated value.The USGS requires satellite telemetry transmitters with pressure transducer used for remote deployment (via crossbow or jab stick) on Pacific walruses fit with attachment anchors, which will be provided by the USGS. The transmitters must be capable of:1)Remote deployment on walruses without the use of immobilizing chemicals;2)Enduring physical shocks of remote deployment and daily wear on free-ranging walruses inhabiting ice bearing waters and coastal haulouts;3)Acquiring walrus haulout and foraging behavior records based on hourly on-board processing of conductivity and pressure transducer sensor data as specified by USGS (hauled out = 1 if more than 90% of conductivity readings indicate a dry state; and forage = 1 if more than 50% of pressure readings indicate a depth of 10m or deeper);4)Producing transmissions that may be relayed through the Argos satellite data collection system that encode a message containing 119 hours of accumulated behavior data, a low voltage indicator, and a check sum;5)Producing a minimum transmission power of 0.5 watts;6)Achieving a mean minimal functional longevity of 7 weeks with a daily duty cycle of 12 hours on and a 60 second transmission interval; and7)Being fit with a mechanism that allows activation of the transmitter under arctic field conditions.To enable remote deployment of transmitters units shall not exceed 140g mass and shall be configured to accept a deployment mechanism that may be propelled by a crossbow (or jab stick) and to be securely fit to a standard USGS sub-dermal anchor. To ensure secure attachment to target walruses, the units must be securely fit with a standard USGS walrus anchor. To ensure optimal battery reserves for each deployment, USGS requires that units be built in small batches in the months prior to planned deployment expeditions. These requirements are all met by the Telonics LPT-145 tag, the replacement model to the previous LPT-125 model tag.If the USGS purchases the maximum quantity (100), the estimated value of this acquisition will be approximately redacted.Data on how the Pacific walrus is responding to changes in the arctic ecosystem is critically needed by the Department of the Interior (DOI). The Pacific walrus is a high profile species managed by DOI, subject to a substantial and Alaska Native and Chukotka Native (in the Russian Far East) subsistence harvest, and currently under review for an Endangered Species Act listing. Furthermore, DOI has leased sizable tracks of offshore lands for oil and gas development in a region that is used heavily by female and young walruses for foraging throughout the summer. DOI urgently requires a refined understanding of walrus movement and foraging in these lease sale areas, and must develop an understanding of how Pacific walruses will respond to loss of sea ice over their summer foraging grounds. Ice free conditions in recent years have resulted in unprecedented movements of walruses to U.S. Chukchi Sea coasts. The altered movements and foraging patterns of these walruses and their unprecedented arrival in the tens of thousands on U.S. Chukchi Sea coasts have captured global media attention. Solid data are urgently needed to place these new phenomena in a scientific context so that DOI may make sound management decisions. 4. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of the test program for certain commercial items (section 4202 of the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996). Telonics is the only source that can meet the USGS requirement as described in paragraph 3 above.The required items are determined to be commercial items as defined in FAR Part 2. Satellite telemetry transmitters have many commercial uses and are routinely sold to the general public for purposes other than governmental purposes. These particular items have been modified with regard to their attachment method, sensor package and on board processing algorithms to meet the USGS requirements, but this modification falls within the minor modifications language of the definition of commercial items.5. Demonstration that the proposed contractors unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.The design of the LPT-145 rests on the development of the haulout monitoring data-logging satellite relayed tag that was developed for the 2006 Pacific walrus aerial survey. This haulout monitoring tag was developed by soliciting and testing prototype tags developed by three vendors (redacted, Telonics, and redacted) beginning in 2002. Based on data from 4 years of field trials, USGS selected the tag design that best met USGS scientific needs in 2006. For a technical account of this process, see citation redacted. At that time, the Telonics model of tag redacted tag was the basis of Telonics contribution to the study.When USGS began development of the requisitioned tag, in autumn 2006 USGS contacted the two (2) firms known to be capable of producing such a tag: Telonics and redacted. Redacted declined to work with USGS on this project, even when approached in subsequent years (2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010). Beginning in 2007 Telonics invested development costs to work with USGS researchers on this new tag. USGS conducted laboratory and field trials of a prototype tag in 2007. Based on positive results, USGS began deploying a commercial production model of the new tag (Telonics model redacted) in spring of 2008.USGS worked with Telonics in autumn of 2008 and spring of 2009 on a second round of product development focused on extending functional longevity and ensuring data integrity. Product improvements included development of a superior energy delivery system and reduction of the tag size. Deployments of the improved tag (Telonics model redacted) in 2010 demonstrated greater functional longevity and increased data integrity.Telonics has demonstrated a solid commitment to working with USGS to continually improve this telemetry system to meet the USGS science needs. Each year subsequent to tag deployments, Telonics has worked closely with USGS to interpret data recovered from the tags for clues on how to further improve the tags. During 2010 Telonics provided their chief engineer at no cost to USGS as a field assistant during a July 2010 tag deployment mission. Working aboard a ship offshore in the arctic sea ice, USGS assembled a team of senior scientists for a hands-on workshop to further improve this telemetry system. Participants in this workshop included the USGS chief scientists responsible for satellite-linked telemetry of wildlife, name redacted, and a senior scientist involved with analysis of telemetry data from marine mammals, name redacted from the institution redacted, as well as the chief engineer from Telonics, and USGS Alaska Science Center Walrus Research Program staff.It is critical that USGS maintain consistency in data results across studies over several years; and continuity in the incremental development of these tags, which have undergone software and housing configurations specifically for walrus telemetry. USGS has deployed over 290 of these data logging satellite-linked telemetry tags capable of collecting walrus haulout and foraging behavior since the autumn of 2007. A tag with similar performance and capable of producing data consistent with these previous deployments is not available from another vendor, and no other vendor has demonstrated the commitment to this effort that Telonics has. 6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.A notice of intent to award this action will be posted to the GPE as required by Subpart 5.2, inviting other interested offerors to submit their capabilities statements for review to determine whether competitive opportunities exist. After award, the contracting officer will publicly post this justification, as required by FAR 13.501(a)(1)(iii). 7. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.It is anticipated that both the per-unit and total prices will be fair and reasonable. This anticipation is based on the USGS acquisition history with Telonics and the contracting officers knowledge of the broader market for satellite telemetry transmitters. After a formal quotation is received, and prior to executing an award, the contracting officer will conduct a more detailed analysis and document the file accordingly.8. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted.In addition to the facts presented above, the contracting officer has conducted extensive market research in the wildlife telemetry tracking market. There are a handful of well-qualified companies known to the contracting officer and his colleagues (names of nine (9) companies redacted.) None have a product that is comparable to the Telonics product the USGS intends to acquire with this acquisition.9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.Previous recent purchase G10PX01022 for the same product was conducted by the previous contracting officer as a competitive acquisition utilizing a brand-name-or-equal specification referenced on the Telonics product. Only one response was received, from Telonics.10. A listing of the sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.None. Any responses to the notice of intent to award this proposed action and/or capabilities statements submitted will be documented in the contract file. Updated information as of award no responses to the notice of intent to award were received.11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.None at this time. The USGS has made a strong effort to engage various potential sources during the developmental stages of this type of product, and continues to acquire this product in an open and transparent way. The USGS cannot control that other manufacturers with the technical expertise to expand into this product offering make the business decision not to do so. 12. Certifications.12.1. I hereby certify that technical information which forms a basis for this justification that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.Signature redacted.Anthony FischbachWildlife Biologist12.2. I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.Signature redacted.Jeffrey M. CaravelliContracting Officer12.3. In accordance with DIAPR 2008-10, with Amendment 1 thereto, I have reviewed this justification and concur.Signature redacted.Nancy V. MillerChief, OAG Sacramento
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